Rekt! Legend of the Grisly Greenis
by imsorryted
Summary: Ted has survived Nox's assault on eir body and soul - at least for now - but at what cost? Perhaps the dastardly Chia had more on his mind than teaching em a lesson in manners... Devotedslothminion's professionality is once more put to the test, as despite Parlax's assurances that he holds no intention of degrading the unfortunate human, things are not all as they seem...
1. Aftermath

_Get down from there, you imbecile._

Sloth groaned, massaging his temples. This was why he had difficulty trusting people. No matter how simple the task you set them, they always find a way to muck it up. Mercifully, Nox's laughter was finally beginning to die down. The plan's backfire couldn't have been anymore complete.

"Oh, my dears," Nox sighed, the odd stray giggle still bursting through his stiffened facade. "You are truly marvellous. You went to all that effort just to make an old warlock smile. I thank you, truly."

Ted lay in silent shock, eir mind racing through an endless cycle of images and thoughts and sounds. Ey didn't dare look in Nox's direction for fear of meeting his icy gaze. He'd exploited em enough already, violated em in all sorts of ways. Ey wasn't about to give him an invitation.

Parlax looked bashful and started climbing carefully down from the ceiling. He did his best to ignore the glares from his master, the naked human shivering on the rug, and the smugness of the ghost he'd failed to banish. This was turning out to be one of the most embarrassing days ever, and he hadn't even had breakfast yet.

"Alas I am afraid I must depart," the smarmy Chia continued, cloak billowing in the non-existent wind. "They say there is no rest for the wicked, but I am sure my sleep this day will be a peaceful one. Farewell, Frank, Teddy,...

"...Grundo."

"Goodbye, Hubrid," hissed the bristling doctor. "May your slumber be long and pass without interruption."

"Indeed," the Chia laughed, spreading his arms and fading away into nothing.

The room was still.

"Would you care to explain how you managed to turn up late, _**AND**__ with the wrong potion?_"

Yup, Sloth was furious.

"I-I did my best. Your instructions-"

"My _instructions_ were to use the DE-IONISED WATER." He was using a voice he reserved only for the highest of insults. It had terrified many an incompetent worker over the years, and it was having its desired effect on the Grundo who stood whimpering before him. "He probably smelled it coming from a mile away!"

Parlax's knees buckled as he took a half-step back, antennae drooping.

"I'm sorry, Master," he stammered.

"Regrets and platitudes will not fix the damage you caused! Look!"

Ted flinched as the doctor gestured violently in eir direction. Ey'd heard his legendary yelling voice only once before, and it had resulted in a promising engineer being demoted to picking litter off the tourist decks.

"Well, er, er, what do you want me to do? I don't know how to fix this on my own..."

Ted sat up, wondering if there was anything ey could do, when Parlax let out a snigger. Ey looked at him, utterly bewildered, just to see him burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" ey demanded, pride inflamed. "What's so funny?"

Parlax managed to point at em before he promptly fell over, clutching at his sides with the laughter engulfing his whole body.

Dr. Sloth was baffled by the sudden change in his minion's demeanour – that is until his eyes alighted on Ted's chest. He sank his face into his palm, overcome with embarrassment.

"No, not this **again,** Parlax..."

Ted looked down.

"Oh yeah, _haha,_ my breasts are showing," ey shot. "Very mature."

"No, that's not it," Sloth explained, utterly mortified. "Grundos don't have nipples..."

"NIPPLES!" shouted Parlax. His hilarity redoubled, and he rolled back and forth, limbs flailing.

The doctor sighed. He was going to have to employ the only foolproof tactic in his arsenal that could get Parlax to shut up. He got up and dragged Parlax by the collar of his uniform over to the bed.

"No, please, Master!" he managed between giggles. "Not... not in front of the... hahahaha!"

Ted watched in curiosity and horror as eir master lifted Parlax and bent him over the side of the bed. As one hand pinned him down, another raised itself before delivering a swift slap to the Grundo's bottom. Parlax yelped, but continued to laugh. The doctor hit him again, and again. Each time he struck his backside, the Grundo's hilarity would decrease only marginally, but soon enough he simply lay there panting.

"Okay. Okay. I'm calm."

"Good." The doctor's tone was scathing. "Now, if you feel you are ready, we can discuss the matter of your punishment..."

_That wasn't his punishment?_ Ted gulped. Ey knew Sloth had a reputation for sadism, especially towards errant minions, but ey'd never seen that side of him before. In fact, Ted had seen so very little evidence of it that ey thought it was a myth.

Parlax nodded, and the doctor continued.

"...Since you were the one to deploy the solution, and because you seem to find their current appearance so amusing, your first order of business will be to scrub your fellow minion clean."

Parlax's eyes widened, but he didn't say a word. On the other hand,

"M-master," Ted stammered. "Are you sure that is appropriate?"

This Grundo was a complete stranger to em, but ey had heard rumours, and none of them good. Ey tried to hide eir face as eir master turned towards em. Ey'd never felt so vulnerable.

"He will be naked," Sloth explained, expression defiant. "So as not to damage his uniform. I will leave you in his care, and you will follow _his_ direction, understood?"

Not really.

"I understand, Master." Ey drooped eir head, choosing to focus on the leather fronds between eir toes. It really was an interesting choice of rug...

"Good. Follow me, both of you."

As they followed their master out into the corridor, Parlax shot Ted a filthy glare. This was all the human's fault. And to think ey had the cheek to try and question the doctor's judgement, after all the trouble ey'd caused. He saw em flinch. Good. Maybe he could convince em to buck up eir ideas.

Meanwhile, something was niggling the back of Ted's mind. Something about the way that Sloth had phrased his orders to em made em shiver. _"He will be naked... and you will follow _his_ direction..."_ Ey really hoped he wasn't implying that statement to its full potential. The way Parlax was looking at em, it felt unlikely he would show em any sympathy.

The all-too-familiar bathroom came into view, and Sloth ushered them inside.

"Take off your clothes," he ordered Parlax, before switching his attention to the business of drawing the bath.

Ted was unsure where to look. (Avoiding staring at Parlax would be a good start.) Dr. Sloth's buttocks waved around in front of em, and for once ey felt disgusted by the sight of them. Ey'd been so distracted by eir fear and the heat of arousal that Ted hadn't noticed that something was wrong. Something was wrong inside em. Ey'd changed. The things ey had done, had wanted to do while in the midst of that vile orgy, were terrifying to think about.

Ey felt dirty, and it wasn't just the salts that were beginning to crystallise on eir skin...

Maybe this was Nox's true revenge.

"I will assume neither of you have eaten since supper," the doctor stated flatly, still busy filling the tub. "On this occasion I will prepare your breakfast for you, and you will be allowed the privilege of my company – a bonus for your early rise. How do you feel about eggy toast?"

"That sounds delicious, Master." Ted shuffled awkwardly on the spot, seemingly engrossed in one of the floor tiles. Ey was more aware of eir breasts than ey would have liked, thanks to Parlax's hysterical outburst.

"Parlax? Eggy toast?"

"Oh! Um," Parlax was caught by surprise. "Yes, Master. Thank you." He was getting mixed messages from the doctor, who had been intent on punishing him but was now offering a cooked breakfast?

Sloth shut off the taps before turning to his two minions. Ted attempted not to notice the way his pickle carried the momentum, swaying like the welcome sign at a roadside inn. Of course, ey failed miserably. Why was ey so obsessed with his package?

"You will want to wash your face before fully entering the bath," he suggested to Ted, who thanked him for his advice. The Doctor smirked as he then turned to Parlax. "Be gentle with them. I know how thorough you are about your cleaning."

"_Help!" _thought Ted. Ey couldn't panic. Not now, after all that had happened. Anxiety over something that _may or may not be implied_ would most definitely not help the situation.

"I understand, Master," Parlax replied. His voice was perfectly level – a practised mask. No need to let the human know what he was thinking. No doubt ey'd try to pull some empathy reading kaudung and try to make friends with him. The thought was sickening.

"Breakfast will be served in the drawing room," stated Dr. Sloth. "Retire there once you are finished."

The minions chorused their agreement and he shut the door behind him. It was now just Ted, Parlax, and a steaming bath.

"Well, go on then!" demanded the Grundo as Ted realised ey was staring at him.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

Ey approached the bath, all too conscious of eir exposed body. Parlax was the first person ey'd met today that wasn't taller than em, but that didn't make him any less of a threat. Ted was sure he could probably immobilise em in an instant if he felt the inclination to do so.

Ey leant over and scooped up some water – it was lovely and hot, sweet smelling and pleasant to touch. It felt good to wash all the gunk off eir face. It wasn't just the crystallised solution, but also the buckets of sweat that had drenched em throughout eir previous activities.

Ey jumped when ey realised Parlax was standing right next to em.

"That's enough. Get in the bath," he ordered, grimacing.

Ted wondered if the only reason he wasn't tackling em to the ground and pulling fists was because they worked for the same guy – that was the level of animosity emanating from the split Grundo. Regardless, ey wasn't going to push eir luck. Ey climbed into the bath gingerly, memories of what had happened the last time distracting eir senses.

"Dunk."

"What?"

A swift push from Parlax forced Ted's body underwater, and ey was only thrashing around for a second or two before he let em up again, gasping and spluttering and frantically trying to clear the water from eir eyes.

"What was that for!?" ey coughed, still choking on the bathwater.

(So, he wasn't going to molest em, he was just going to drown em instead. Fab.)

"To get you wet so I can lather the soap!" Parlax grumbled. It wasn't his fault Ted couldn't understand simple instructions. He grabbed the soap from the other end of the bath, unintentionally flashing his buttcheeks – flushed and faintly glowing – at the soaking human.

"You could have given me more warning..." eir voice was small, frightened perhaps.

Parlax glared at em before letting out an exasperated sigh. "Well, that's how life goes, isn't it? Sometimes things happen that you weren't expecting, and before you know it you're knee deep in someone else's shit."

Ted got the feeling his statement wasn't a response to the current situation, but perhaps a lifetime of being thrown into situations he was under-prepared for. Ey stayed quiet. Maybe if he worked out his frustrations on his own, he'd be less likely to physically abuse em. Ey hoped that was the case.

The Grundo moved behind em and grabbed eir shoulder.

"What are you doing?" ey gasped, flinching from his grasp.

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" He grabbed eir shoulder again and started rubbing the soap onto eir back in wide circular motions. Ted immediately tensed up, pulse racing, but as the hard contours slid over bumps and valleys, ey found emself being forcibly relaxed.

It was an odd feeling.

"I'm sorry, by the way," he sputtered – a hot potato in the form of an apology. "I shouldn't have laughed. I just... haven't seen a lot of humans before. Up close, I mean."

He took a breath before his next smug pronouncement...

"You could have given me more warning."

"_Shit,"_ thought Ted. _"What if he's expecting a response?" _

"I, er, I'm sorry too. For assuming you were being sexist. And... and for causing all of this."

"_Wow, that was quick," _thought Parlax. He put down the soap and started washing the suds off the human's back. Maybe he could get somewhere with em after all.

"Heh, get over yourself, you're just an excuse. I hate to break it to you, but nobody cares what you say about them on your blog. You don't even come close to causing that kind of offence."

The words stung. That wasn't what Ted had meant at all, yet it was a slight comfort to know ey wasn't being held to a stricter standard by the Neopian upper crust. Ey'd severely underestimated Hubrid Nox, however. Had ey known that he and Sloth had history, ey wouldn't have said all the things ey had. Or at least not with as much gusto. In a sense, ey'd walked right into this one. Story of eir life.

"Thanks, I guess..."

Parlax made an odd grunt then moved round to Ted's left, continuing his task of scrubbing em clean.

"What's with these random patches of fur?" he said as he was lathering eir armpit. "And why do they always stink?"

"Um, I'm not sure," Ted answered awkwardly. "But there's bacteria that live in it and eat the sweat, and they produce a gas that makes us smell. But we don't like the smell so we use soap and deodorant and things."

Awkward was an understatement.

"...So why don't you just get rid of it?"

"I don't know. The tradition seems to be that "men" shave their entire heads while "women" have to shave everywhere else. So I just don't shave. I mean it has to be there for a reason, right?"

Ey was getting pretty agitated at this course of enquiry. Parlax, of course, cared little for gender politics, so he decided to change the subject before he died of boredom.

"Who cares? It just looks weird is all. I'm sure your human friends find it very attractive."

"I don't do it to be attractive!" shot Ted. "I'd rather be unattractive so I don't keep hitting it off with people then finding out the only reason they're talking to me is because they want me in bed!"

"Happens to everyone, bud. Even the split freak with the fucked up face gets unwanted attention."

Silence reigned for a full minute. Eir left side clean, Parlax moved around to Ted's front.

"...I don't think you're a freak," ey eventually said.

"Well that's _very generous _of you," he replied, a note of sarcasm working its way into his voice. He set to work scrubbing the human's torso.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," ey mumbled. "But I can see why people might come to the conclusion that you're really -!"

Ted's sentence cut off with a squeak. Parlax paused, looking at em bemused.

"What?" he said, almost accusingly.

Ted's eyes flicked down.

"Um, I er, do you think you could..." ey stammered.

"What?"

"...Take your hand off my breast for a moment?"


	2. Two's Company

They looked at each other for a second.

"And why should I do that?" Parlax spoke slowly, clearly missing the significance of this seemingly mundane request.

"Because it's a very sensitive area and some people view theirs as sex toys?" ey tried.

"What, really? These things?" He didn't believe em. To prove his point, he lifted it up to get a closer look. "Who finds this attractive?"

Ted bit eir lip as Parlax's thumb brushed past eir nipple. Ey told emself he was probably just being curious, he wasn't meaning to turn em on by groping em in this fashion...

"They're so floppy," he continued musing. "It's just a big blob of fat." He took the other one in his hand, feeling the weight between the two. "They're so heavy too. What's so fucking great about boobs?"

Too engrossed in his assessment, the Grundo failed to notice Ted becoming more and more agitated.

"Please..." ey whimpered. By now there were tears in eir eyes. "I don't want to."

Parlax stared at eir face for a moment.

"Ew, no!" He grimaced, dropping the boobs and taking a step back in disgust. Ted was confused – a little relieved that Parlax had stopped feeling em up, worried in case he started berating _em _for getting aroused from it."Seriously – ugh, that's disgusting!"

"So you didn't do it on purpose." Ey covered eir breasts and avoided his gaze.

"Look, don't get me wrong, you're just _really_ not my type." The thought of it made him shudder. _No, just no._

"That didn't stop Nox," ey lamented.

"Hey, listen to me," he snapped. "I wouldn't fuck you if you were the only fuckable creature left in the universe. Happier now?"

"Do you really mean that?"

"Absolutely."

"Oh, thank goodness," Ted sighed, letting emself relax once more. "I was worried Master might be implying something with the "follow his direction" and "be gentle" comments."

_You're a weird one all right, I'll give you that._ "Yeah, there's something I don't get." He approached the tub and gingerly picked up the soap from where he'd left it. "Why do you keep second-guessing his orders? Like he's going to take advice from _you._"

"It's not second-guessing," countered Ted. Parlax started rubbing eir midriff with the soap, thankfully ignoring eir breasts for now. "It's more like... sharing information. He always told me that he likes how honest I am with him..."

Ey turned red as ey remembered something the doctor had said to em earlier that morning, while ey was still in the glow of having done it for the first time...

Ey cleared eir throat to get rid of the thought.

"...Anyway, I would be arrogant if I thought I could tell how much he knows just from looking at me, so I tell him everything. It's what works best for me."

_What is this shit? That human truly is crazy. _"Honest. _**Right.**_ And here I thought you were being a mouthy little git, like when you asked if he was joking when he told you to touch yourself."

"What – How –?"

"**Answer the bloody question.**" He put the soap down and glared at em. "Why do you ask if he's serious whenever he gives you an order?"

"Because," Ted gulped. "Because sometimes I don't understand sarcasm. Sometimes I don't understand when people are making jokes, or I think they must be making jokes because of the context but then it turns out they're deadly serious."

Ey stopped. He wasn't glaring at em anymore, but he still didn't look pleased.

"...How did you manage to hear our conversation?"

For the first time, Parlax actually smiled at em. He pointed to one of his antennae.

"I was told to keep an ear on the situation so I'd know if it was time for me to drop in or not."

"And he was comfortable with that?" It made sense now that Parlax would have been given a way to listen in. How else would he be expected to sneak in and throw that potion bomb before Nox realised he was there?

"You know you're not the only person Master's ever chosen to spend a night with, right?"

"You mean, …?"

"Welcome to the fuck club, buddy." It really was amusing for Parlax to see em working through all the implications. Maybe Ted would stop giving the impression ey was Sloth's personal favourite. He'd like to hope that. It was so annoying seeing people of lower rank – _especially humans_ – acting like they were best buds with the master.

He picked up the soap again. Ted didn't flinch this time as he touched it to eir skin. Ey was deep in thought, otherwise unreadable.

"I don't know if I can do it again," ey admitted eventually. "It's too much."

"You mean his cock? There's no shame in finding it too big for you."

"No," Ted smiled sadly. "I meant the sex. It feels... wrong."

Parlax shrugged. "Looked to me like you were enjoying it. Sounded like you were enjoying it _a lot._ Legs."

Ted leant back and lifted eir legs so that Parlax could wash them without obstruction. "That's just it. I got carried away. There were things that I wanted to do that I just...

...I'm scared."

"...Was that your first time?" He picked up eir leg gingerly. This sounded like something more than plain embarrassment.

"Pretty much."

"Oh." His master's words resounded in his brain. _Regrets and platitudes will not fix the damage you caused... _"Sounds like you were a bit out of your depth having to entertain that Nox guy, huh?"

"No kidding. He threatened my pets as well, the hellion. As if there's any way I could have stood up to him before he dragged them into it as well." It bothered em how easily Nox had deflected any attempt at rebellion. He'd clearly done a lot of research, and that worried em. Was ey to be his plaything from now on? After all, he'd stopped just short of promising to kidnap em at some point in the future...

"_One of the reasons I'm better off without a family," _was Parlax's knee jerk reaction, though he quickly silenced the thought. The decision had been made a long time ago, and he'd stuck by it since. "Well you know what you've gotta do now, right?"

"What?" It was awkward trying to talk from behind a foot, as well as keep it raised so that Parlax wouldn't have to struggle with it. Not to mention ey was rather ticklish on the soles of eir feet...

"Make him think he's won," he stated like it were obvious. "You need to make him believe that you learned your lesson and there's nothing more to be gained from torturing you. In this case, I recommend _not_ acting like a shit scared Babaa."

Ted's foot twitched slightly.

"Are you sure that'll work?"

Parlax smiled.

"He's proud and sadistic. My guess would be that he thought you were getting too arrogant, and that's why he decided to put on a show. Someone like you wouldn't be worth his time normally. It's only 'cos he wanted to score some points against the doc as well that he turned up. So, act like you've swallowed the pill and stop ranting on about how terrible that Hubrid Nox is, but don't give the impression that you're terrified. If it only takes a little effort to turn you into a nervous wreck, he'll keep coming back for more. Time is precious for these guys, and a clever nut like him wants to maximise what he can get out of his resources. Make it look like you're tough, but at the same time you got the message and you won't provoke him anymore."

"That's... actually very useful. Thanks." Was Parlax actually... helping em? Under his own free will?

"Just don't go spreading it around. This is top secret, okay?"

"I understand. I won't tell a soul." Ted wondered why Parlax was so wound up about threats to his reputation. Maybe he was like em – worried that people might use his true personality against him if he showed any signs of weakness. "...You won't tell anyone that I was, um, in bed with someone, right?"

"What, you don't want me to shout _"devotedslothminion finally got to shag Dr. Sloth"_ through the public address?" Parlax smirked. Ted didn't like that.

"What do you mean "finally"? Like I've been waiting for it all my life or something?"

"That was the general idea."

"Huh! Do I really give off that impression?"

"To be perfectly honest..." He dropped Ted's foot with a splosh. "Yes. You really do."

"But I never even wanted to shag anyone!"

"Anyone but him." Parlax smiled and suppressed a laugh. Ey was taking the bait. "I've seen you admit it; if anyone else but the doc asked if you were down to fuck, you'd say no fucking way."

Ted stiffened defensively.

"There's a difference between would like to have sex with and would have sex with if asked! Surely you know that?"

"Doesn't stop you enjoying the attention though, does it? Master chose to be intimate with you, and you've got the hickey to prove it."

"Hickey?"

Parlax snickered.

"You know, a love bite."

"Love... bite...?" Ey put a hand to eir neck. Sure enough, Ted could feel a bruise forming where Sloth had bitten down when he was attempting to turn em on.

"You don't even know what a love bite is?" Parlax facepalmed.

"Those aren't two words I would have ever thought of putting together, to be honest," Ted admitted.

"You really are a fucking n00b."

Ey was a n00b. Hubrid Nox had known that, and Ted had foolishly accepted his help. The truth was ey knew nothing about sex other than the mechanics of making children. Even a simple blowjob had em way out of eir depth.

"So you're saying it's a sign of affection?"

"Yeah." He started soaping up eir last leg. "It's a sign that someone really has the hots for you, and you've been doing naughty things with them."

Ted turned red.

"But I don't... I don't want people to know..."

"Just cover it with makeup or something. It's your own damn business what you get up to in your spare time."

"Oh. Thanks."

Parlax continued scrubbing eir leg. _"Who would even gossip about you anyways?"_ It was a fight not to roll his eyes and make some biting comment. He didn't want to get the blame from Master for making Ted's trauma _worse._

"...Do you think foundation? Or concealer...?"

"The heck if I know."

"Oh. Okay."

Parlax sighed. "I don't know much about humans, okay? You blush weird colours and you bruise purple."

He was half-expecting a "you're always purple" retort, but instead the human just nodded defeatedly. What a wreck.

"Okay, I'm done," he said, releasing eir foot. "Get out the bath."

Ted stood, glad that it was finally over. Parlax turned away in disgust as water made its way down eir mammalian body hair, and went to go find his clothes. Meanwhile, Ted clambered out of the bath and wrapped emself in a large towel that had appeared on the rack sometime since last night.

"Parlax?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know where my clothes are?"

He sighed, exasperated.

"I haven't a clue. Don't you remember where you left them?"

"I... think I left them around where you're standing," ey stammered. "B-but obviously that's not where they are..."

"Look," snapped Parlax. "How about we go where Master is expecting us and then you can ask _him_ about your clothes. Just do us both a favour and keep the towel on, okay?"

Ted nodded, pulling the towel tighter around em. Eir stomach rumbled. Hopefully ey would be given the opportunity to dress emself before breakfast...


	3. Breakfast

The drawing room had four sides and was plushly decorated – bookcases lined one corner, surrounded by a couple of comfy reading chairs. Had Ted been left alone, ey might have let eir curiosity draw em over to scrutinise the titles, but as it was, Parlax sat straight down at the opposite end of the room and motioned for Ted to do the same.

Unlike most of the other rooms in the vicinity, this one had a full carpet. Soft, red, fluffy – Ted caressed it with eir toes, exploring the texture. The table ey sat down in front of was nothing particularly interesting to look at. Matte black, presumably heavy, and smoothly contoured. The carpet was much more interesting.

Had ey not been staring at the floor, ey might have felt rather exposed. Each wall contained a door of some sort. Of course there was the door they entered through, leading to the outer corridor, and Ted would be surprised if one of them didn't lead to the bedroom ey'd become acquainted with the night before. The smell of fried toast had begun to seep into the room – perhaps the pantry was adjacent, and Dr. Sloth would be joining them any minute now...

Parlax was distracting himself from the soggy flesh blob next to him by going back in his mind and memorising the route he took through the ceiling space earlier on. You never know when that sort of information might be needed again. (Of course, he already knew much of the hidden areas of the Space Station. Much of his life had been spent building up a three-dimensional mental map of the corridors and access panels, and the maze of tunnels that lay behind them.) Part of him wondered why Sloth was so keen to protect this human from harm. _"Who knows, maybe it's his conscience."_ Parlax had never understood why someone as ambitious as his master would feel so obligated towards even lowly grunts, but more often than not it had worked in his own favour, so he tended not to question it.

The door banged open. Dr. Sloth entered, pushing a trolley piled with high with french toast and assorted condiments. He whistled cheerfully as he set the table for three, placing the condiments as he went. He found Ted's expression amusing as he dropped a bottle of soy sauce next to eir plate. Almost four years working for him and ey was still surprised by how much he knew.

"Master, let me assist-"

"No, Parlax." The doctor smiled. "This is my treat to you."

The smile did little to lift Parlax's inherent unease. This wasn't the natural order of things - it should be him serving his Master's breakfast, not the other way around. He sat uncomfortably, watching as Sloth unloaded sugar, pepper, a drink of water for Ted, grapefruit juice for Parlax, and something dark and unfathomable for himself.

Finally, a massive plateful of toast dumped itself on the middle of the table.

"Dig in," Sloth beamed, indicating that they were free to take as much as they liked. After all, he had prepared it specially for them.

Parlax waited for his master to take a seat before taking anything from the platter. Ted summarily shrugged the towel off eir shoulders and occupied emself by wrapping it more firmly around eir chest. It seemed neither of them wanted to make the first move.

Luckily Dr. Sloth had no such anxiety. If he noticed their hesitance, he didn't let on as he dragged several pieces from the top of the pile and dropped them onto his plate. He continued, coating each slice with a layer of white pepper before consuming them in great graceful gulps.

Parlax judged it safe to begin, sticking a piece with his fork and tugging it quietly into his space. Ted pinned eir elbows to eir chest, leaning awkwardly to try and preserve eir dignity as ey struggled with knife and fork to lift eir breakfast to its proper place.

_"You needn't have to,"_ Sloth thought of saying. But that would be too mischievous for this time in the morning, and he wouldn't want to reveal his intentions just yet. He amused himself by noting their quite different approaches to breakfast, and matching it to related aspects of their personalities.

Ted sat turning cogs, evidently battling between eir own self-consciousness and eir desire to express enjoyment of the meal. Ey cut a small, careful piece from eir toast, dipping it in a tiny puddle of soy sauce - replenished every so often as needed - before eating it in two bites. Always two. Parlax sat a little distance away, keeping note of everything going on around him with subtle tilts of his head. The rest of his actions were deliberately solid. Everything had been carefully judged - even the smallest of operations were executed without superfluous motion or emotion.

Clearly neither of them felt comfortable in the other's presence, but that would change.

"If either of you need to relieve yourselves," Sloth said after the plate had been emptied. Both of his minions were showing the symptoms of a full and satisfying meal. He indicated a door marked WC. "I suggest that you do so now."

Ted glanced at Parlax before sluggishly moving to eir feet. Parlax eyed em carefully, but remained motionless apart from his heavy breathing. Ey maundered across the floor, as if hampered by eir own inertia. As ey closed the door behind em, ey heard the doctor's muffled tones. It wasn't for Ted to eavesdrop, but ey couldn't help but think about what sort of matters they might be discussing.

Besides, anything to distract em from eir naked body while ey was doing eir business.

When ey returned, several minutes later, ey could feel tension in the air. Parlax stared at em apprehensively, while Sloth seemed unusually serene. Something didn't seem right.

"Um-Master," ey stammered. "I was wondering... what happened to my clothes?"

"Hmm, what happened indeed?" He smiled playfully. "Parlax, do you know where their clothes might have gone?"

"No, I do not." He kept his voice level, his expression grim.

Ted felt confused. Was ey being made fun of?

"Your clothes are being laundered as we speak." Sloth's voice was smooth and calming. "Do not worry, they will be returned to you before you leave."

Ted blushed a little. It sounded obvious now, after his explanation.

"Thank you, Master."

"Parlax, could you wait for me in the bedroom?"

The Grundo shuffled off his seat and headed off. Ted couldn't help but feel sorry for him, imagining him being forced to await the next part of his punishment.

"Now then," Sloth said as soon as Parlax had left the room. He took Ted's hand and stroked it gently. "I want to ask how you are feeling. I know what Parlax did to you, and although he expressed his regret, I doubt he understands the full implications."

"I... it's okay." Ted felt emself flushing as the towel started to slip slightly. "Really. On top of everything, I can forgive an accident. And he did manage to make me feel a little safer about going back home."

"I am glad to hear it. What Nox did to you was unacceptable, however, I cannot take action against him without endangering you further. You are aware of how he operates, I am sure. If I am seen to care about you personally, even if it is what I would do for any of my minions under the circumstances, it will only justify his performing more and greater attacks on you as well as my other resources. It might mean the beginning of an all out war."

"I understand," Ted sighed. How ey wished Nox might have _something_ to lose, if only to curb his impunity. Eir eyes started filling up as ey realised how _wrong_ it all was. There would be no justice. Nox had broken em completely, and he would go unpunished. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair...

Dr. Sloth wiped a tear from Ted's cheek. Ey looked up at him, eir eyes shiny wet, and he took em into a protective embrace. "You have done so much more than I could have asked from you."

"Why do I feel so awful?" Ey buried eir head in his chest, even though it was undignified, unprofessional.

"Crying is good. It will help you to heal." He held em close, stroking eir hair gently. Ey trembled a little in his arms, Sloth noticed, though it wasn't to be unexpected given all that had happened. He held em all the tighter for it.

Sobs shook Ted's body. Ey couldn't keep the tears back for very long before ey was bawling, smearing snot and tears all over eir master's bathrobe. He was so soothing, and yet ey was a mess. Ey felt even more of a failure now for being unable to keep eir composure. _"I should be better than this,"_ ey thought.

"I shouldn't be doing this!" ey wailed. "I shouldn't be... c-crying like this!"

"You are short on your sleep. Crying will help"

"But it's... it's not professional..."

"You are not on duty, Ted. I gave you the day off so you could recuperate." There was a deep sympathy blended through the gentleness of his voice. This only made Ted even more distraught.

"M-master," ey blubbered. "Why are you so nice? You're so lovely..."

"I have seen a lot of hurt, Ted," he murmured in response. "You understand."

Ey tried to nod. It was something ey'd known emself for some years now. Seeing how pain affects others, knowing how it feels to suffer, it changes your viewpoint, slowly but surely. And Sloth had been living for centuries.

He wrapped the towel back around eir body, as it had started to slip, and ey felt a sudden pang of need. Maybe, just maybe, if they had sex again, just the two of them, the pain would go away. Ey snuggled deeper into him, unsure of how to process these feelings. Surrounded by the warm fluffiness of his bathrobe, rocked gently with the rhythm of his breathing, Ted gradually began to feel a little better.

When ey broke to look at him again, eir face was bright red and covered in a sticky mess.

"Here," the doctor said, pulling a tissue from his pocket. Ted patiently sat as he wiped eir face clean, or thereabouts. "You look better now."

"I'm sorry," ey choked.

"You have no need to apologise."

"I'm such a mess."

"No." He stroked eir face, gazing at em softly. "You are beautiful."

That need to be held and be loved surged again within em. Ey threw eir arms around eir master, hugging him tightly. "I don't want to leave you," ey cried.

"You don't have to leave if you don't want to." He stroked eir back, trying to reassure em that he wasn't going anywhere.

"But Parlax..." Ey'd already wasted so much of Sloth's time. It wasn't fair on Parlax. Ey was being selfish.

"He understands that I needed to speak with you privately before I return to him."

"Are you going to hurt him?"

"Well, that rather depends. If you are willing, I should like you to join us. Parlax has already agreed to this condition, on the understanding that his punishment will be reduced if he complies."

"Join you?" Join them for what?

"I understand if you would prefer not, but since we were... interrupted earlier before we could finish..."

"You mean...?" Ted blushed. "You would want me there to... have a threesome? With you and Parlax?"

"I have warned him to be on his best behaviour, though I don't believe he needs much incentive in this instance. I assure you he feels remorseful of his previous attitude, though he would find it difficult to admit this to your face, and he is open to reconciliation."

"You... you think this'll work?" This time yesterday ey was still practically a virgin.

"You will be free to change your mind, if you wish. You can modify or withdraw your consent at any time."

As ey thought about it, the heat spread through eir body. Ted might not be confident in emself about having a good time, but the thought of both of them touching em... besides, more intimacy with Dr. Sloth was just what ey'd been craving. And this time ey'd be able to say if it got too much. Ey wouldn't have to put on a smile out of fear. Ey was safe.

Ted nodded.

"I'll do it."


End file.
